The Food and Drug Administration just announced plans to have the food industry phase out trans fats in all processed foods over the next three years. Trans fats are in many processed foods such as cookies, crackers and other items such as Hormel Chili. Eating a diet rich in trans fat is linked to obesity, heart attacks and memory loss as well as increasing the "bad" LDL cholesterol that can contribute to cardiovascular disease.
However, one food contains a surprising amount of trans fat and is eaten by none other than Howard Wolowitz, the space pioneer from TV's The Big Bang Theory program. Perhaps the writers will have to generate an episode in which Howard goes to the hospital because he suffers a heart attack from consuming too much of Toucan Sam's product...
Despite the claim that Kellogg's Froot Loops have no trans fat on their nutritional facts side panel, their ingredient list states otherwise. Besides artificial colors and flavors, the ingredients include partially hydrogenated oils, which include coconut and/or palm. Even if there is less than half a gram of trans fat per serving in the box, it adds up to eight grams of trans fat in a typical package. For a laundry detergent-sized box, that doubles to as much as sixteen grams of trans fat.
If the food industry wants to be serious about cutting out trans fat, they should look at products such as Froot Loops before moving on to the more serious culprits such as the desserts and Hormel Chili. Additionally, the producers of The Big Bang Theory need to stop having "Froot Loops" Wolowitz consuming this toxic cereal. Otherwise, he will end up dead like his mother.